December 2009
Our 10th Anniversary Celebration at Radio City Music Hall
December 30, 2009
Our Visit on Christmas Day to see the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall 2009
Two Seniors Demonstrate How Facebook is For Everyone ;)
December 26, 2009
12 Days of Christmas
December 22, 2009
I present “12 Days of Christmas” from the amazingly creative Highland Lakes Realtors staff. If they are half as good at real estate as they are at Christmas carols it’s easy to see why they have been successful 
Their Website states:
After humble beginnings in 1993, Highland Lakes Real Estate has grown to be the largest independent real estate brokerage on the north shore. Our laid back and friendly style of doing business has gained us a reputation as the place to go when you want to buy or sell real estate in central Texas. We were voted the BEST REALTOR ON THE NORTHSHORE in 2007 AND 2008 and have been awarded BUSINESS OF THE YEAR honors multiple times by the Lago Vista Chamber of Commerce.
The video is great but it’s even better if you sing along so to help you’ll find the lyrics detailed under the video. You can also click here if you want a PDF version:
On the first day of Christmas
My buyers said to me,
There are some houses we would like to see
On the second day of Christmas
Their Lender said to me,
A Pre-Approval Letter
For your buyers who found houses they must see
On the third day of Christmas
The first house we did see,
Ended up a Short Sale
Who knows when we’re closing
We must find a home and move within 3 weeks.
On the fourth day of Christmas
My cell goes Ring-A-Ling-A Ling
A New List of Houses
Grandpa came along
Only Two Hours
Can you show us all these houses right away?
On the fifth day of Christmas
My buyers said to me
“WE WANT THIS HOUSE!”
Hurry let’s get in
Dead E-Key
Two Open Doors
The Alarm goes off as we walk in
On the sixth day of Christmas
My Broker texted me
Alarm turned off
“WE WANT THIS HOUSE!”
EWEWEW what’s that smell
Smoke or Cat Box
Who can really tell
Oh let’s hurry! Can we write an offer please?
On the seventh day of Christmas
The Contract signed today
Seven Option Days
3 Weeks to Closing
“WE WANT THIS HOUSE!”
The Inspector called
His boot just
Went through the roof
But the Seller owns a Roofing Company
On the eighth day of Christmas
The Lender e-mailed me
Just got the Appraisal
We need more sold houses
Values must go up
“WE NEED THIS HOUSE!”
But there is good news
Interest Rates are Faaaalllling
And we need to Quickly Lock the Buyers in!
On the ninth day of Christmas
The Title Company
Asked “What are all these Liens?”
Look at Schedule C
Do you have a survey?
Buyers need more money
“WE WANT THIS HOUSE!”
Movers will be here
To Load up
All the Buyers things
And We really need to close by New Year’s Eve
On the tenth day of Christmas
The Inspector sent to me
A 30-Page Report
8 Summary Pages
Faulty Circuit Wiring
Water Heater Leaks
Question on Foundation
“WE WANT THIS HOUSE!”
Overflowing Toilets
Sinks Leak
What could be next?
This house sits in the Flood Plain!
On the eleventh day of Christmas
We’re closing in 2 days
We have Clear Title
Where is your Disbursement
Lender sent the docs
Buyers sign at 10
Find a Closing Gift
Finally get a Check
“WE BOUGHT THIS HOUSE!”
Had to cut Commission
What else is new?
Shake hands, here’s the key to your new house
On the twelfth day of Christmas
A big sigh of relief
To-Do List on the fridge
Baking still to do
Presents still to wrap
Football on the tube
Empty gas tank
Office Christmas Party
Decorate the Tree
“MOM, WHAT’S FOR LUNCH?”
Cell Phone starts to ring
Buyers need to see
This house right away
I’m a REALTOR, there is no time for me!
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A Realtors Christmas
December 22, 2009
This was a hoot and wanted to share with you.
Home Buyer Tax Credit Extension
December 22, 2009
A Great Deal in Real Estate is Now Better
Note: This is intended to provide an overview only - for specific information or individual concerns, please contact your lawyer, accountant and/or financial advisor.
The federal income tax credit for homebuyers has been extended and expanded to now include homeowners who wish to "move on" after 5 years of living in their current property, as well as first-time homebuyers.
- First-time homebuyers, or those who have not owned in the last three years, can receive up to an $8,000 tax credit
- Homeowners who have lived in a current home consecutively for 5 of the past 8 years can receive up to a $6,500 tax credit
- There may be no future extensions, so all qualified homebuyers are urged to act and have a written, binding contract by April 30, 2010 (close by June 30, 2010)
- Income limits are now $125,000 for singles, $225,000 for married couples with a $20,000 phase-out of the credit for both.
According to The National Association of Realtors News Release, dated 11/5/09, an estimated $22 billion has already been added to the general economy resulting from the bill and approximately 2 million people will utilize the tax credit in 2009
Blizzard 2009
December 20, 2009
It was snowing so hard and we were antsy so we took our jeep out in the Blizzard and decided to drive around Rumson, Eatontown, Shrewsbury and other towns and check out how the Christmas decorations looked in the snow blizzard. People were out there shoveling the snow, and some cars were having a rougth time but not us. Only in a Jeep! Hope you enjoy the photos, I also experimented with flash and no flash.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
December forecasts the next year's economy...
December 18, 2009
How is that you may ask? Well every year around this time my husband and I drive around the area to see the christmas lights; and as we drive around we have noticed that some years there are more lights than others. So we decided to do an impromptu survey.
Now it has become a ritual with us. The last 2 years people did not decorate and light their houses as much for the Christmas season and the last 2 years both the housing market and automobile market has been hurting and as a result so has our income.
This year as I did my first personal mini tour this evening I have noticed many more houses lit up with lights and decorated. My intial take is that people are feeling optimistic and are beginning to spend money by lighting up their houses.
Stay tuned and I will let you know further my impromptu take on December's 2010 economy forecast.
5 Great Google Chrome Extensions You Should Install
December 18, 2009
5 Great Google Chrome Extensions You Should Install
So yesterday we saw how we can install extensions in Google Chrome by switching to Chrome’s beta channel. As promised I am back with a list of cool extensions for Chrome that enhance your experience of using this browser.
1. Google Quick Scroll
When you search for some text or a phrase in Google, it displays the results in the form of website links accompanied with snippets of the destination page.
Although the text snippet shows your search query, when you go to the original page, the search query seems to be buried somewhere in the page and you usually need to use Ctrl+F to find that text (happens a lot of times in my experience).
Google Quick Scroll is a useful extension by Google that aims to solve that problem. This extension helps you locate the search query on the destination page when it is difficult and time-consuming to do that manually.